Chris Mosby, the Lean Manager for Topper Industrial, recently explained how fork truck free lean initiatives start with reduced walk-time. According to Mosby, walking the plant floor or distribution center adds zero value. Value is only achieved at work locations, never between them. Poorly designed operations have pickers walking more than ten miles a day on the floor increasing errors, injuries, and declining productivity.

“Fork truck free environments do not eliminate all the walking, but allows a dramatic and quantifiable reduction in the walking ‘commuting time’ to collect and retrieve product. Inefficient designs make work difficult, less efficient, and is certainly not lean,” shared Mosby.

Rather than having packing employees run for tape, filler, or other materials, fork truck free environments brings needed materials to the worker. Topper Industrial flow racks are instrumental in mobile storage options and efficient replenishment. Inventory needed for an assembly process is a lean principle; orders move through straight lines. This does not eliminate rework, changes, or customization; these can roll the needed stock to the work-in-process as needed, reducing the need for work-in-process or pending orders to shift place in the line.

For more than twenty years, Topper Industrial, (www.TopperIndustrial.com) based just outside of Milwaukee, WI, has been a leader in the material handling equipment industry. The company’s product roster features industrial carts, conveyors, lifts, lifts & tilts, shipping racks, containers, casters, and cart components. From mother-daughter carts to quad steer carts to tilt carts and rotate carts, Topper’s material handling solutions make delivering material line side more effective through more efficient practices. Topper Industrial has a team of experienced professional experts able to assess and provide the right product for all material handling equipment requirements.